Elusive Prey
by xJake
Summary: A mage from Earth crosses into Maple World, but in the midst of war. Aiden wants to remain isolated in case a group of mage-killing brutes manage to find a way there as well. He must now choose a side during this time of war. Either he is with the Alliance, or he is with the Black Wings. Many adventures await him in this new world.


A young man stood in a dimly lit room in front of a wall covered in circles with weird shapes and symbol in them. It was all neatly drawn with a thick, black marker. The man, no older than twenty, observed his handy-work. He scanned the image before him from top to bottom, then left to right - carefully checking to make sure no mistakes were present. He then took a moment to ponder.

'I don't plan on returning as this is a one way trip. It's the only way I can be in peace.'

He picked up a couple of bags next to him off the floor and slung them onto his back. They were quite heavy, but not enough to weigh him down. He held out his hands and channelled a bright blue aura into the circles filled with shapes.

'These runes shouldn't take a whole lot of magic to activate,' he thought. 'The spell shouldn't be THAT big. I hope."

As the runes on the wall lit up, there was pounding on his door. 'Crap! They found me!' He let out a few large bursts of magic to be channelled into his spell. The sound of splintering wood and glass shattering filled the main chamber of his home. 'Almost there!'

"We know you're in there, Aiden! You little spell-slinger!" A shout came from outside.

In just a matter of moments, a bright light appeared at the center of the runes. It expanded until the entire wall was covered by a bright light. 'The portal is finally open! Now is my chance!' Immediately after finishing his thought, he heard the sound of his front door being broken in. Aiden felt sweat trickle down his face. Loud, frantic footsteps filled his ears. He quickly glanced back at the door to his lab. A strong vibration of it being pounded against can felt in throughout his entire body. He froze for nearly a minute. He then shook his head and jumped through the rift. Immediately after doing so, it closed.

After the portal was closed off, a bunch of gruff-looking men busted into the lab. The tallest one glared at a now blank wall in front of him.

"Where did he go?!" Said one of the men.

"He was here just a moment ago! I saw a bright light underneath the threshold!" Exclaimed another.

The tall man said in a dark and rough voice, "If he did get away - wherever he is, we will find a way to track him down. No pansy-ass mage gets away from the Mage Hunters," his eyes narrowed. "Let's get out of here."

All the Mage Hunters nodded in compliance. The tall man tightened his left fist around a rather large chain that was adorned with a rather sharp blade at the tip, and a tightened his right one around a the hilt of a blade with a jagged edge. Both of his weapons were covered in the dry blood of his fallen victims. He let out an irritated breath and turned his back to the wall, and walked out.

* * *

Aiden's vision was filled with white as he travelled through the portal. When he finally exited, he blacked out from the over-extended use of his magic - trying to cast the spell, and the exhaustion he suffered after finally making it through. He was unconscious for several minutes before finally regaining consciousness. When he awoke, he checked his surroundings. He slowly looked up to vaguely see clouds rapidly zip through the blue sky. He shifted his eyes to the left, and then to the right. Finally, he looked in front of him. He could barely make out the rest, but he saw blurred figures of people staring back at him.

The cool air can be felt on his face. He opened and closed his eyes a few times before speaking. "I finally did it...ehehe," he said softly with a weak smile as he faded - barely keeping hold of consciousness.

* * *

"Who in the world is this person? He just appeared out of thin air!" Neinheart shouted in disbelief.

"Calm down, Neinheart," Cygnus replied in a soft tone.

"I cannot calm down!" Neinheart argued. "Empress, how do we know this person isn't with the Black Wings? Who knows how long he's been here?" He cleared his throat, and took a breath. "And what does he mean 'I finally did it?' Sounds a lot like he accomplished a plan of some kind!"

"Listen, Neinheart, I understand that we are at war right now, but shouldn't we ask him some questions before jumping to conclusions?"

He looked over the barely conscious man. He saw Evan rummaging through one of the bags he had on him. "What are you doing, Evan?"

Evan looked up at Neinheart sheepishly. "Uhm, well. I was just checking these bags to make sure he didn't have anything dangerous."

"Hmm. I suppose you managed to find something useful that would give us a clue as to who this person is?"

The young dragon master scratched his chin. "Well there are a lot of books in these bags."

The man's eyes went ajar.

"May we have a look?" Cygnus asked.

Evan nodded. He pulled out an untitled book from one of the bags, and handed it over.

Cygnus grabbed the book from Evan, and opened it up to the first page. It was filled with detailed notes on various types of magic and spells. There were some drawings of creatures that were shaded black. They seemed very sinister judging by their appearance. "Oh my."

"What is it, Empress?" Neinheart asked.

She read a few lines of notes in the book. "The creatures described on the first page are...unsettling."

He came over next to the empress to read the page. He read all the same lines she did. His brows furrowed. "These beasts sound like something the Black Mage would conjure up."

The man groaned loudly in anger. "Put...that back."

Neinheart snapped the book shut. "Guards! Take this man in for questioning at once!"

He struggled to get to his feet. "You don't understand!" He managed to shout before he was surrounded by guards, and Resistance soldiers.

"What don't I understand?"

"Just when I thought I got away from trouble," he said, "I only end up in a deeper hole," he ran his left hand through his brown hair. His head hung low. "Fine, take me in, but I assure you that I have no quarrels with you or anyone here."

"We will see about that," he deadpanned at the man.

"Neinheart, if he doesn't mean to cause trouble, why arrest him?" Cygnus questioned her adviser.

Evan nodded in agreement.

"It's just as we discussed earlier. This is war. I'm sorry, but we can't allow something to just slip by, no matter how small," he answered. He turned to the guards. "Take him away."

With that the guards and soldiers grabbed the man by the arms, and took him in. As he passed by Cygnus she spoke to him. "I'm sorry, but we don't have any other choice."

The man didn't reply as he was escorted inside the Lumiere for questioning.

* * *

**First chapter to a new fic that I have contemplated on doing for a while. Not many fics out there like this.**

**This is also a different version of an MLP fanfic I am writing over at .**

**Anyway, read and review guys. Tell me what you think!**

**By the way, expect longer chapters in the future.**


End file.
